Shoe inseam sewing machine



Dec. 15, 1953 .1. P. CARTER SHOE INSEAM SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 27, 1951 [raven bar fa mes PCcz mer' Patented Dec. 15, 1953 James P. Carter,

Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application November 27, 1951, Serial No. 258,430

*4 Claims.

The present invention relates to shoe inseam sewing machines and is hereinafter illustrated as embodied in an improvement in devices for adjusting the position of a channel guide with respect to the operating point of such machines on a shoe.

The object of the invention is to simplify and improve the construction in shoe sewing machines of the type referred to in such manner that -effective adjustment of the channel guide be accomplished more conveniently and quickly than heretofore.

In the machine disclosed in United States Le ters Patent No. 1,971,575, granted August 28, .1934, in the name of Alfred R. Morrill in which the present invention is intended to ice employed, a channel guide is secured to a carrier rotatably mounted for oscillation during each sew-ing cycle about a shaft which serves as a supporting stud, a curved needle also oscillating about the a;

same stud. The channel guide carrier is actuated by a link pivotally connected to the carrier at one end and to a cam actuated lever at the other end. It is sometimes necessary to adjust the oscillating stroke of the channel guide and for this purpose one of the pivots for the actuating link is eccentrically mounted so that it may be shifted through rotation of its pivot. While the machine is in operating condition, however, this pivot can be reached only by partial disas sembly of the machine and even then adjustment of the eccentric pivot disturbs the adjustment of a thread finger which also is mounted on channel guide carrier, the thread finger being actuated by a cam lever and a second link arranged in substantially parallel relation to the carrier actuating link. To avoid the necessity of partial disassembly without disturbing the adjustment in the machine of the thread finger it has been the practice to insert or remove shims clamped between the channel guide and its carrier. Even with the use of shims it is somewhat difficult to provide proper adjustment of the channel guide since it requires disconnection of the channel guide from its carrier and the necessity for properly relocating the channel guide after reclamping.

To avoid the difiiculties enumerated and to pro vide a simple and effective channel guide adjusting means so that complete relocation of it on the carrier is avoided each time an adjustment is made in a machine of the type disclosed in the lMorrill patent, the needle stud of the machine has rotatably mounted upon it, according to the present invention, a separate block to which the 2 channel guide is secured, the block fleeing adjustably connected to the channel guide carrier for .relative angular movement therewith. This man ner of mounting enables the use of a readily accessible arrangement of an arcuate slot and clamp screw connection between the channel :guide block and the carrier with which the channel guide may adjustably be moved through an are concentric with the path of the needle with-out disturbing the vertical adjustment of the channel guide on the carrier or requiring relocation on the machine as with the use of adjusting shims.

These and other features of the present invention consist in the devices, combinations and arrangements of the parts hereinafter described and claimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained "thereby will readily be understood from the following detailed description taken in connection -with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a View in front elevation of certain stitch forming and work engaging devices together with their operating connections at the front of a machine, embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in right hand elevation of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1, indicating the operating position of a shoe shown in section;

Fig. 8 is a detail plan view on "an enlarged scale taken in section along the line III-III of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view on a similar scale :of the channel guide adjusting connection shown in right side elevation.

The shoe sewing machine of which the parts are illustrated in the drawings, is adapted for operation upon the upper, welt and insole of a Goodyear welt shoe and the operating elements thereof comprise a curved hook needlefi, :a'curved awl B, a thread arm or finger in, a channel guide I 2 and other stitch forming and Work engaging devices similar to those disclosed the Morrill patent above identified. The needle is clamped to a segment :53 and all the stitch forrning and work engaging devices are actuated through suitable individual mechanisms to engage and disengage the work and to impart a continuous and even feed of the work, the needle segment and channel guide being supported on a common slide comprising a stud or shaft M, in turn mounted for rotation and reciprocation along the line of feed in a pair of cheek plates 16 and 58 secured to the frame of the machine. The awl is secured to a second feed slide 2-0 having oppositely projecting stub shafts 22 rotatably and slidably mounted in spaced parallel relation to the shaft M on the cheek plates l6 and H3. The awl 8 is given a work penetrating and feeding movement alternately with the correspond ing movements imparted to the needle (-2. The parts thus briefly referred to are mounted in extremely compact relationship and are driven positively in such a way that the needle enters each perforation made by the awl and performs its other stitch forming operations uniformly in properly timed relationship to the other stitch forming device.

Providing a mounting in which the respective movements may be imparted to each of the stitch forming devices in the machine of the Morrill patent presents serious problems in accuracy, rigidity and durability of construction for the relatively severe stresses applied to the operating devices. In so far as possible adjusting means for taking up wear and for other purposes have been located in the patented machine some distance from the crowded space surrounding the stitch forming and work engaging devices themselves. For this purpose many of the operating connections for the stitch forming and work engaging devices are provided with eccentric studs or sim ilar means of adjustment.

To adjust the channel guide l2 in the prior machine two requirements must be met. The ver-- tical position must be set so that its work engaging lower end is located in line with the needle along its curved path of movement, indicated by the broken line 23. To meet the first require ment the channel guide of the prior machine is secured to a carrier 24 through a vertical tongue and groove connection, the carrier being rotatably mounted on the needle supporting shaft for movement of the guide toward and from the work. To secure the channel guide to the carrier the channel guide has a vertical slot through which passes a bolt 26 into threaded engage-- ment with the carrier. Once the vertical position of the channel guide is set it is usually unnecessary to make further adjustments in its vertical position during ordinary usage. Where the machine is operating upon shoes of different sizes and weights, however, a further requirement of adjustment in angular movement of the channel guide toward and from the work must be met to accommodate variations in thickness of stock operated upon. For this purpose the horizontal position of the channel guide is shifted and an upwardly extending part of the carrier is formed with a socket for the ball end of an ac tuating link 28 connected to and forming a part of a cam driven mechanism for the channel guide. The end of the link opposite the carrier is piv oted on an eccentric stud (not shown) Rotation of the eccentric stud changes the efiective length of the link 28 and correspondingly changes the stroke of the channel guide. Such adjustment, however, is objectionable for several reasons.

The patented machine is so arranged that the eccentric stud is obscured from convenient access by other operating parts of the machine so that partial dismantling of the machine is necessary before making adjustments. Also, the channel guide carrier has mounted upon it a rockshaft 30 at the lower end of which is secured the thread fingers H]. To operate the thread finger the upper end of the rockshaft is connected to a thread finger mechanism and has secured to it a collar 32 provided with a projecting ball which enters a socket in a link 34 extending gen erally in parallel relation to the channel guide actuating link 28. If the effective length of the channel guide link 28 is changed by rotation of the eccentric stud the movement of the thread finger also will be affected. Thus, it will be necessary to make a further adjustment in the thread finger actuating mechanism to compensate for this effect.

It has been proposed to adjust the channel guide along the path of the needle through the use of shims inserted between the channel guide and its carrier instead of relying upon the eccentric stud connection with the link 28. This expedient also is objectionable since it requires frequent readjustment and shift in the vertical position of the channel guide on the carrier to maintain its work engaging end in alinement with the needle path 23.

To obtain the desired adjustment for the movement of the channel guide l2 simply and conveniently, in the machine embodying the present invention, the channel guide is not secured directly to the carrier 24 as in the machine of the prior patent but a separate block 36 is interposed between the channel guide and the carrier 24. The block 36 is rotatably mounted on a hub portion of the carrier, which is rotatable about the needle stud or shaft M. The block 36 has the channel guide secured to it by the usual tongue and groove vertically adjustable connection. The block 36 in turn is connected to the channel guide carrier for relative angular adjustment by means accessible without dismantling or disturbing in any way the other operating or supporting parts of the machine. To hold the block against movement along the shaft l4 the shaft is grooved to receive a snap ring 37.

As illustrated more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4, the block 36 has a rearwardly projecting lug provided with an arcuate slot 38 through which passes a clamp screw 49. The clamp screw 40 is threaded into a portion of the carrier 24 which is otherwise formed in the same shape as that of the prior patent, certain portions of the carrier being cut away, however, to provide space for the block 36. The slot 38 is formed concentrically to the needle path 23 and upon loosening the clamp screw 49 the channel guide may, accordingly, be given a relative angular adjustment through a path concentric with the work engaging and disengaging movement of the needle 6. Such adjustment is of advantage where the thickness of the shoe operated upon varies appreciably, especially where relatively thick and thin materials are being operated upon successively, in order to enable the stitch forming devices to perform their functions most eifectively.

If it is necessary to adjust the position of the channel guide in any other way than along a path concentric with the path 23 of the needle, loss of time occurs and exercise of special skill on the part of the operator is essential, since it is necessary to make other compensating adjustments with the construction of the prior patent. With the use of the present invention a single, simple and readily accessible adjusting device is provided in which the arcuate position of the channel guide may be shifted along the operating path of the needle in an extremely desirable manner with beneficial results not only in time saving and skill requirements but also with advantage in uniform high quality workmanship produced by the machine.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment hav ing been described what is claimed is:

l. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle, a, channel guide and other stitch-forming and work-engaging devices, a segment on which the needle is mounted, a carrier for the channel guide, a common supporting shaft for the needle segment and the channel guide carrier, and mechanism including a link connected to the carrier for actuating the channel guide toward and from engagement with a shoe, in combination with a block to which the channel guide is secured, rotatable about the needle shaft and adjustably connected to the channel guide carrier for angular movement relative to the carrier.

2. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle, a channel guide and other stitch-forming and work-engaging devices, a segment on which the needle is mounted, a carrier for the channel guide, a common supporting shaft for the needle segment and the channel guide carrier, a mechanism including a link connected to the carrier 'for actuating the channel guide toward and from engagement with a shoe, in combination with a block to which the channel guide is adjustably secured, rotatable about the needle shaft and an arcuate slot and clamp screw connection between the channel guide block and the carrier to enable relative angular adjustment between the channel guide and its carrier about the needle shaft.

3. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle, a-channel guide, a thread finger and other stitch-forming and work-engaging devices, a segment on which the needle is mounted, a carrier for the channel guide on which the thread finger is mounted for movement relative to the channel guide, a shaft comprising a common pivot for the needle segment and channel uide carrier, mechanism including a link connected to the carrier for actuating the channel guide toward and from engagement with a shoe and mechanism including a link extending generally in parallel relation to the channel guide actuating link, operatively connected to the thread finger for actuating the thread finger relatively to the channel guide, in combination with a block to which the channel guide is secured with a vertical tongue and groove, adjustable connection, said block being rotatable about the needle stud and adjustably connected to the channel guide carrier for angular movement relative to the carrier about the needle shaft.

4. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle, 9, channel guide, a, thread finger and other stitch-forming and work-engaging devices, a segment on which the needle is mounted, a carrier for the channel guide on which the thread finger is mounted for movement relative to the channel guide, a shaft comprising a common pivot for the needle segment and channel guide carrier, mechanism including a link connected to the carrier for actuating the channel guide toward and from engagement with a shoe and mechanism including a link extending generally in parallel relation to the channel guide actuating link, operatively connected to the thread finger for actuating the thread finger relatively to the channel guide, in combination with a block to which the channel guide is secured rotatable about the needle stud and adjustably connected to the channel guide carrier for angular movement relative to the carrier about the needle shaft, and a snap ring fitting the groove in the shaft to hold the block against movement along the grooved shaft.

JAMES P. CARTER.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

